Çanlı Kilise Settlement

A cultural rupture during the Arab incursions is evidenced by the settlement patterns and historical records of Çanlı Kilise, a small but prosperous rural community in Western Cappadocia. The main settlement, dating to the middle Byzantine period, features an elegant masonry church and two dozen rock-cut residential complexes, likely serving as an administrative center linked to the nearby fortress of Akhisar. Archaeological surveys revealed an older site to the north with a sixth or seventh-century cruciform church, which was abandoned and not resettled during the middle Byzantine period. This finding, combined with Arab accounts of the fortress's repeated capture, suggests significant societal disruption in the region.

Ousterhout, R. (2017). Çanlı Kilise Settlement. The Archaeology of Byzantine Anatolia, 321–326. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190610463.003.0030